Sunday, June 03, 2007

On the river

Another warm, mostly sunny day here in London. We headed over to lunch with two couples who are good friends Karl and Kate, and Paul and Ros, over at 'The Land'.

'The Land' is a riverfront property newly acquired by Kate's parents, known as 'The Land' because that's all it consists of: a good size, prime frontage on the river Thames at Chertsey that's approximately 60 metres deep. There's a caravan on it, plus a few sheds, but no planning permission for a permanent residence - Kate's father, a vicar, has bought it as a retirement location.

It's a beautiful setting, and we dined well, with the food washed down with some nice wines, including an Ascheri Barbera and a voluptuous Primitivo from Puglia. Then we went for a spin on the Thames on Kate's father's boat. Very relaxing.

This evening we watched A good year - a film that actually has at its core the subject of wine. But don't waste your time on it: it's a limp lettuce of a film, based around a flimsy, predictable plot. The cast, led by Russell Crowe, give the impression that they can't really be arsed to act, so weak is the script, and with just the faintest hint of a twist, the story ambles on to an utterly predictable and cheesy conclusion. A bit like a branded wine, it's not objectionable or unpleasant, and slips down easy enough, but it's uninspiring and leaves you unsatisfied.

And then RTL ate my cheese. I'd taken a few slivers off a chunk of comte, and left the rest on the worktop. The dog snarfed the lot, and before I'd realized it was all gone. Now she's sleeping soundly, with a belly full of decent cheese. My cheese.

4 Comments:

Our Poodles LOVE cheese and their taste for it only seems to increase with age. Our oldest (13yo) can't get enough of the stuff.

Fortunately none of them like wine, just holding a glass in the general direction of their noses will force a retreat. In their early life (first year) the two youngest would at least lick a drop of wine off my finger. I'd love to know why it smells so bad to them now.

Just asked my wife (she's a vet) about cheese consumpion for dogs! She says that there is not likely to be problem most of the time. But it depends on the ability of the animal to tolerate fat. Giving dogs too much can tax the pancreas; but a one hit episode is probably not a big problem.